Space in a commercial kitchen is at a premium. Therefore, it is desirable to use the vertical space by making ovens tall in relation to their width and/or depth. However, the vertical elongation of the oven cooking chamber promotes heat stratification within the oven, and uneven cooking. A vertically elongate or vertically oriented oven is one in which the height of the oven cooking or warming chamber is greater than at least one of the horizontal dimensions of the cooking or warming chamber. Moreover, oven configurations promoting circulation of heat may in some circumstances be defeated by improper overloading of the oven with food that blocks the intended circulating flow.
One type of oven that may be vertically oriented in a barbecue oven. However, there are other ovens which are not used for barbeque cooking that can be vertically oriented that experience the heat stratification. Barbecuing is a cooking process that typically involves the cooking of foods by exposing them to relatively low temperature smoke for a number of hours. The structure used for barbecuing typically includes a heating or fire chamber, a cooking chamber and a conduit or flue through which smoke and heated combustion gases are transported from the fire chamber to the cooking chamber. Smoke and heat is produced by burning a smoke producing substance in the fire chamber such as wood, which is periodically replenished, until cooking is completed. The fire chamber is traditionally located to the side of the cooking chamber because grease often drips from the food being cooked. If the grease contacts the burning fuel, it could ignite. Other ovens besides barbecue ovens may also have remote or confined heating sources. In some cases, blowers or fans in the cooking chamber circulate the heated air and smoke from the fire chamber around the food to heat the food and impart a smokey flavor. However, these fans have not resolved the issue of heat stratification in the cooking chamber.